Modern Pentathlon

The Team Bath Sports Training Village has been home to Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre since 1998. Many world medal and Olympic medal-winning athletes have trained and/or studied at the University of Bath during that time, including Tokyo 2020 gold-medallists Joe Choong and Kate French.

They – like Samantha Murray, the London 2012 Olympic silver medallist and 2014 World Champion, and Mhairi Spence, the 2012 World Champion – are University of Bath graduates, combining studying and training on campus.

World-class facilities – all on one site

Pentathletes are able to train for all five disciplines at the STV. A dedicated Pentathlon Hall boasts eight fencing pistes and indoor laser-pistol shooting range; the 50m swimming pool can be partitioned into 25m lanes to replicate pentathlon competition; there are indoor and outdoor athletics tracks, the latter also featuring a laser-shooting range; and, opened in late 2024, a PentaOCR National Training Centre allows athletes to hone their skills in the dynamic new discipline of Obstacle Course Racing.

There is also a high-performance gym exclusive to performance athletes, and a physiotherapy and sport science-dedicated centre. Click here for more details.

A photo of Pentathlon GB's Joe Choong crossing the finish line with his arms outstretched, cheered on by a watching crowd, as he wins the men's title when the University of Bath hosted the 2023 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships. The photo was taken by Jon Rowley. — Joe Choong won gold on home soil when the University of Bath hosted the 2023 UIPM Pentathlon World Championships. PICTURE: Jon Rowley

The STV is not only a training venue – it has also successfully hosted two European Championships, in 2015 and 2019, and the 2023 World Championships, where Joe Choong won gold in front of a delighted home crowd. All three doubled as qualifying events for the following year’s Olympic Games.

A phenomenal record of success

Since the Pentathlon GB National Training Centre was first established at the STV, British athletes have won seven medals at Olympic Games – three of them gold.

Dr Stephanie Cook and Kate Allenby – both inductees into the University of Bath Hall of Fame for Sport – won gold and bronze respectively at Sydney 2000, Georgina Harland won bronze at Athens 2004, Heather Fell won silver at Beijing 2008 and Samantha Murray won silver at London 2012 before Kate French and Joe Choong recorded a historic golden double at Tokyo 2020.

There has also been plenty of World Championships success over the years with Dr Stephanie Cook, Mhairi Spence, Samantha Murray, Jamie Cooke and Joe Choong all having won gold. Jamie, Joe and Kate French have also won the World Cup Final title.